Day 86...Monaco. Need I say more??? - 20th September

Slept in. Aaaaah! Thats a rarity. Did some more Internet (I have so much blog to catch up on!). Around lunch we caught the train to Monaco. Its handy as we are so close to the main train station, and Monaco is only a 20 minute ride away, along windy coastal tracks.

Monaco is tiny! About 1.9miles square. We came out of the train station, staring at that famous bay. Closer, the view was blocked a bit with tents as they were holding a big boa show. It was good though, as there were massive boats with helicopters, quadbikes and spas on them. We ate a sandwich by the water and watched the people go by. Like LA, everyone seemed to be sizing each other up, scanning the crowds to see if they recognised anyone rich and/or famous.

Nathan: "After the disappointment of missing all the European rounds of the F1 and not driving the Nurburgring, I was stoked to finally arrive in Monaco. There's no place like it, tiny and glamorous this is really the place where dreams are reality! Monaco boasts the most glamorous and recognisable of all the F1 events and is home to many international Yachting magnates with literally billions of dollars of boats cramed into the famous grand harbour. From the harbour the terrain launches skyward making for some of the most spectacular coastal scenery anywhere in the world. Although a bit dated, the hills were crammed with opulent mansions and apartment complexes - all overlooking the meticulously groomed streets and lucious public walkways and parks.

Monaco is the home of the rich and famous, living in an idyllic tax-free havenw ith seamless security and zero crime. Even the public transport is amazing. After lunch by the grand harbour, I decided the number 1 priority was to see the view. Scale the mountain we must, and photograph it in all its glory! We went back to the train station and soon realised it as built deep into the hill, with lifts taking us right up to a street level far above the harbour. From there we jumped onto a bus, brand new, airconditioned with plenty of seating which took us high up the hillside for virtually nothing. Once we got to the end of the line, we walked further still to get a magnificent view over the city, from quite a height. After consulting the map we resoolved there wouldn't be time to do all the F1 track sites today, so decided to knowck over the Moncao-ville end and return the another day to see the rst. (Monte carlo is broken up into sections). We caught the bus again and wandered our way down the mountain and west behind the harbour into Monaco-ville. Monaco-ville sits atop a rocky outcrop with stunning houses and boutiques leaading up to Palis du Prince: the home of the Prince of Monaco. We went for a strll through the botanic gardens taking photos from every angle over the ocean and various inlets. We even found a public toilet large enough to pass for a small house and boasting royal doulton porcelin and all!

We meandered up to the Palace and had a great laugh at the guards strutting about, and Nikki doing filthy things with the ancient cannons pointing out to sea. The views back over the grand harbour here is spectacular so we took some more photos, and of course a jump for Monaco (we are jumping at all the famous sites). It was a hot day so we grabbed a crushed ice drink and made our way back to the bus stop. It was time to leave for the day and head back to Nice 'scum central'. I'm already looking forward to some more time here later in the week." - end Nate

Nikki again: We were pretty buggered and couldn't be bothered walking to Vieux Nice for dinner. So we grabbed a steak and some frozen veges and cooked dinner. Man, we haven't cooked in ages! Then we relaxed and went to bed.